Hamaccabim Association

The "Maccabim Association" – Education and Football for the Community" is a social-educational organization for children of all social strata in Israel with an emphasis on underprivileged areas. The Association aims to enable all children to enjoy a supportive educational and social environment that promotes a combination of football, academic discipline and personal achievements, both as players and as individuals in a productive society. The Association directs its efforts to various sectors – Jewish, Arab, Druze, Circassian, Bedouin and new immigrants.

Association Vision

Thanks to its immense popularity, football can be harnessed as a tool for social mobility and as an educational factor through the development of an academic framework that educates with a view toward competition and achievements in a supportive social setting.

Activity Goals

Athletic activities for children and youth at risk
Reducing social and educational gaps
Multiculturalism

Scope of Activity

Experience, deployment and visibility
12 years of activity
30 football schools nationwide
3,500 children aged 6-18

Achievements

Improving scholastic achievements
Positive behavior
Improved self esteem
Reduced violence and stereotyping
Close cooperation with Maccabi Tel Aviv Football and Basketball
Organized trips to Maccabi Tel Aviv games
Provision of Maccabi Tel Aviv branded athletic equipment

Professionalism

Skilled, experienced and high-quality coaching staff
Leading educators, psychologists and social workers

Projects

Harakevet - Maccabim in Harakevet neighborhood in Lod: A holistic program that combines activities in three neighborhood schools with informal afternoon activities, introducing every child to four spheres of content.
Immigrants on the Field - A program for new immigrants from Ethiopia residing in absorption centers. The program offers football and computer studies during the school year and summer camps for teaching swimming and providing football and enrichment activities during the school holidays.
Goals for Peace – A project jointly operated by the Jenin Center, the Maccabim Association and the Barkai Football School for Education and Coexistence, aimed toward arranging encounters every two months between 40 children aged 12-14 from Jenin and their counterparts from Barkai. The encounters include educational activities in mixed groups, mixed team football tournaments and various sessions on culture and tradition: getting acquainted with different customs, visiting sites holy to different religions, etc.
Kannoth Football Course – The football course of study at the Kannoth Youth Village, initiated by Maccabim, is a holistic program operated in boarding-school conditions in which football provides leverage toward improving the students' overall performance in the village and within the Israeli society. The program achieves these goals by imparting values to mold the students' personalities as players and citizens and by nurturing their emotional and physical strength.
Playing the Game – A nationally deployed football program operating in disadvantaged areas in the periphery combining football with education for children of needy families, children at risk and children subject to welfare services in various settlements. The aim of the program is to provide every boy and girl with the opportunity to enjoy a fun and productive afternoon activity in a supportive and enriching environment.